As Christmas is now over, and 2025 is upon us – we wanted to take a moment to look back on 2024 and what a fantastic year it was for us.
What a YEar!
We are so excited and so proud to see that Vocational Impact has doubled in size! From enquiries, to applications, to volunteers getting on the plane to join us – we are seeing more and more people just like yourselves join us and we couldn’t be happier or more grateful.
Our 2024 volunteers have all been absolutely amazing, and we hope their experience has been as much of a joy as it has been to have had them. Thank you for your incredible work and dedication.
We have also grown in that we have developed new programmes to offer!
our newest programme:
Our newest programme is our Criminology and Law programme in Ghana. We started this programme after the Arms Around The Child ambassador, Christian Atsu, put us in contact with our now partner organisation in Ghana. He believed they were doing amazing work in their community, and we agreed. Developing the programme with the team has been so inspiring, they work incredibly hard and have welcomed our volunteers with open arms. We have been so pleased to see many volunteers take an interest in the programme and head out to Ghana to learn all about prison and penal reform, human rights, and the criminal justice system.
volunteer experiences
We would absolutely love to rave and rhapsodize about every single volunteer we have had this year – but at risk of taking up too much of your time, we have chosen three (at random – promise!).
Rachel joined us as one of our first volunteers at the beginning of the year on a Psychology and Criminology programme in South Africa. She went to courts to see what the process was like for children that had been sexually abused, learned how to do court preparation and how to safely work with children. She also conducted inquiries for a fire and wrote notes about what the professionals said when dealing with the case. Furthermore, she described staying at our partner project focused on children and mothers with HIV as ‘life changing’. “It was great. I feel like it’ll help me as I’ve learned how to work with children safely in court cases.” Rachel also got to go to Cape Town for a weekend; saw many monuments; went to a lion and rhino park and had breakfast with giraffes; went to a theme park; and on a helicopter ride!
Max joined us in Ghana in the middle of the year on a Criminology and Law programme. He got to go on several field trips which included visits to four different prisons; a visit to the legal aid commission; and visits to the High Court. He observed a briefing with a lawyer and a police officer and was able to visit the conference for the new project launch. “Upon the visits to the prisons we were able to see the production of the documentaries where the prisoners discuss how they ended up in prison and how the conditions were, it surprised me how simple some of the prisoners crimes seemed which landed them in prison for at least a year.” We were so pleased when he told us that the placement has helped enhance his employability skills and is planning to use what he learned to help with his dissertation! While in Ghana Max visited Cape Coast and Kakum National park – where they walked across the treetop walkway, and also visited Cape Coast Castle. He also headed to Makola Market, Kwame Nkrumah museum and Osu Castle. He also went on a trip the the Eastern Region where he hiked to two beautiful waterfalls!
Reena is our final volunteer this year, and is coming to the end of her Psychology and Mental Health placement in India. So far she has worked within the hospital under doctors and nurses training in psychiatric disorders and addictions and observing client facing work. She’s also been having fun putting together crafts workshops with the children at our partner project for children with HIV – making selfie frames! In addition she has been out with the community outreach team, visiting our partner projects working with women living below the poverty line in Jaipur.
volunteer success stories
It has been so exciting to hear all of the different ways people use their time on our placements. We have been able to give multiple volunteers references this year and have seen them go on to get fantastic jobs in their chosen field. But it’s also great to see what our volunteers get up to while still on their placement.
Dylan led a rehab workshop with patients at the psychiatric hospital in Ghana, which was so great to hear and we are so proud of him! Dylan said: “This experience was invaluable in understanding the complexities of addiction and the importance of supporting individuals through their recovery journey.”
Reena (previously mentioned!) used her knowledge and background to lead a meditation session with patients in India! We’ve never had a volunteer do this before so it was really exciting to hear. Reena noted that: “This was such an interesting exeprience and the patients really liked it”!
project updates!
We also have many exciting updates from our partner projects in the country’s we work. Our volunteer fees help to make these differences and go towards those we work with, and everyone is so grateful. They help to achieve project growth, wider outreach, and ultimately help more people.
Ghana:
Our home and school in Senya Beraku has been building a new canteen for the children, to ensure they have a secure and comfortable dining area!
Our new Criminology and Law Partner in Ghana has been able to expand their work as we have developed a closer relationship with them! Especially their outreach capacity and their new project that supports Breast Cancer Awareness.
India:
The home for children with HIV has been able to expand, and we’ve been helpingto build a new floor on the top of the building. Once this new floor is complete, they will be able to take on and provide for more children, which is just amazing.
Our community outreach programmes in Jaipur have also managed to take on more women and provide services for them!
South Africa:
We began working with one of our community development projects in South Africa in 2023, and throughout 2024 we have seen their operations increase and reach more people.
that's a wrap!
We are so incredibly grateful for and inspired by everyone we work with: both at our partner projects on the ground and the dedicated volunteers that choose to join us. THANK YOU!
And now, we need you!
It’s been a great year, and as we continue to grow, we are excited to continue our work and make a difference. But, to do so, we need more skilled volunteers like you to support our projects. If you want to do something amazing in 2025, have a jet around our website and see how you could gain vocational training, while having a real impact.
